first step is to find out if it really is jadeite. Jadeite is expensive… nothing that can be bought for cheap is real jadeite nowdays… even if of lower quality. There are so many look alikes that without some testing yyou can’t tell what it is by look, feel even if person… photos are harder yet. Cryptocrystaline quartz is sold as jade… nephrite jade is far more avaialbe that jadeite jade. there are too many stones that look like jade but aren’t… never trust on line sellers unless your can return it with a money back guarentee.
Imperial jade at retail can be more expensive than diamonds. There is no such thing as imperial red jade. Jadeite from Myanmar which has been banned for import into the US makes it’s way in via third countries. Colors are most often green, purple, white and black… nephrite jade is found in Wyoming, and in Alaska. North American jadeitie is present in small amounts but is ot of gem quality. Jadeite is a soda pyroxene deficient in silica (understaturated)… it can be distinguished by specific gravity from nephrite easily… you don’t need expensive equipment… a sensitive balance, a plastic mesh net to hold the stones… weight it in air and weight it again in water… it gives you the specific gravity… nephrite is an amphibole… it’s lighter than pyroxene, with no overlap in specific gravity… quartz stone simulants are lighter than either. A gem tester uses thermal conductivity to test stones… all of these are screening tests… If you think you have real jadeitite, take it to a professional for their opinion. Just from the pictures, it looks like you have quartz stone simulants and not jadeite.
PS: becareful of online sales… you can’t know what you are really getting online unless it comes with papers. Papers obtain online can be fake certificates… when it comes to spending a lot of money for gems, a brick and motar store is the safest, although more expensive… just beware that nothing good can be bought at bargain basement prices…the gem market is wild but the rule that what is quality is still what has be be paid for.
Certification sent is not worth a penny as item may not be what is described.
Test items.
Jade has various colors.
you are completely correct sir!.. online sales are notorious for being unreliable… I saw rubies on sale on Etsy and never bothered to look at Etsy again… papers can originate anywhere with online sales… Chinese notorious for faking GIA certificates for lab created diamonds…Hunting for bargains among amateur sellers not good at all… they don’t know what they are selling themselves except for what those who sold to them told them the stones are…
Please becareful of anything you buy on Etsy… amateur sellers often don’t know what they are selling expect by what someone else from whom they bought told them it was… I looked at a bunch of Rubies on Etsy and was underwhelmed… enough not to go to Etsy for anything…Paper certificates of authenticity not reliable either… fake certificates notorious… Never buy no refund no money back… only buy from trusted sellers… bargain hunting online from amateur sellers which far outnumber reputable ones does not work… you can never get expensive for dirt cheap… money back guarentees are dicey also… only reputable sellers will take returns…reputable sellers don’t sell for cheap either.
Imperial Jade are heirlooms… more valuable than diamonds. Sources in Myanmar government controlled and being exhausted… jadeite comes in all colors, the red beads could be jadeite but doubtful… good quality carnelian is far more likely… easily distinquishable for both nephrite and jadeite by SG testing… quartz is lot lighter.
Looks very dyed. Doubt it’s jadeite at all.
Outstanding, Steven … you made the ID from photos! This site is the Gem Photo ID Capitol of the World! ;)))) The more experience you have, the more often it occurs.
thanks… just trying to help out. Cheap stuff is cheap stuff… people should know that…Can’t buy natural gems for dirt cheap… you get dirt instead!!!
I’m NOT a professional nor a gemologist… my hobby is geology/geochemistry…however gems are minerals and what applies to minerals applies to gems…
see my reply to mhutton…
sent to a reply as above… thanks for the complement… dirt cheap is exactly what it is- dirt. I’m not a professional but a hobby geologist/gemochemist… have made jewerly in the past and know just a little about gemstones… all gems are minerals and have the same properties… knowing mineralogy helps. knowing geologic provenance also helps even more, but provenance is never stated for cheap…
I really feel for those who for whatever reason, get ripped off. expensive can also be faked… people can never be too cautious… again thanks…
I agree it does not look like imperial jadite, but it may very well be jadite (you can come closer to knowing with a specific gravity test). The color is a lot like Guatemalan jadite, and I’ve seen some similar examples from California, eg ‘Pulga’ jade, (although not exactly the same color, and I think nephrite, technically). Another possibility is Bowenite, which I believe is a type of jade (but I may be wrong on that).
Here is a nice pic of various burmese jades and another of a mix of different jade and jade-like stones.
Updated items into recreating new versions of necklace for my own personal use.
Jade was found in multiple color varieties across China 1300 century. During period of mining purple was most rare.
Imperial green second most rare but this is lighter green with no grey what so ever.
Yellow, orange, blue, purple, dark green common, now found are white, grey, dark green along with some light purple.
I recently acquired old jade but for purposes of color refer to jade as jadeite because specifically they are within species with platinum within Jade most often.
Many crush Jade to remove platinum which is a waste of jade. Easier to recycle old costume jewelry to find more rhodium than platinum which is worth far more than platinum. In 1960’s costume jewelry was made by the thousands in rhodium. Rhodium cost in 1960’s was $20 an ounce.
Rhodium now is $8,125 as of yesterday with a high of 2021 at $30,000 per ounce.
If you want treasury hunt start testing metals instead of gems.
Gems are wonderful distraction. I obtained jade from 3 purchases which match descriptions from 1300 mined jade. ‘Old jade’ as it were is not imperial Jade but can easily fetch $15,650 a carat weight in right market auction. My necklace which will be tied using silk strand weaving thread with toed knots. To bring the prior Jade back as it originally was intended for Buddha Amitabh. Then will be placed in the Buddha Temple near my home after my death. Current value is priceless to me.